Many of us stress out a lot on a daily basis. But while this is a common thing, this doesn’t make stress any less unpleasant - and it also doesn’t mean that you need to grit your teeth and endure it. We need to take care of our mental health just as much as of our physical one - that’s why finding the effective ways to reduce stress is so important.

There are plenty of ways to de-stress, but today I want to focus on the easiest one probably - on diary writing. It doesn’t require any special skill or any specific equipment: just some of your time, a pen or a paper (or a laptop if you find it more convenient).

But that’s not the only reason to try it. Here are 6 other reasons why you should try diary writing for stress reduction:

1. It allows you to communicate easier.

If you ever found yourself in a situation when you want to say something more or less important but struggle with choosing the right words, you probably know what I’m talking about. We have so many thought running through our heads on a daily basis - but not all of us are skilled enough to voice them clearly.

Lucky for you, a bit of practice could help you solve this problem. When you write a diary, you learn how to formulate your thoughts on a paper - and so it becomes much easier to do so during the conversations as well.

2. It allows you to understand yourself better.

We live in a busy world, where not all of us actually find some time to spend on thinking about why they feel something, why they react to things in a certain way, and so on. Mindfulness is what helps you understand your own actions better - and diary writing is one of the best ways to become more mindful. When you spend some time daily pouring your thoughts on a paper, it becomes easier for you to spot the connection between these thoughts and certain events or certain actions you take.

3. It makes you more disciplined.

The diary writing is effective only when you do it regularly. So if you do want to benefit from it, you need to make it a habit - which indeed requires some discipline from you. Though it might be hard at first, this could lead to you building other important habits as well. This is similar to starting working out or building a healthy lifestyle: once you build a certain useful habit, it becomes easier for you to start building other habits as well.

4. It helps you understand your goals and dreams better and pursue them.

We all have goals and dreams, small or big. However, not all of us actually pursue them - and not because these goals and dreams aren’t important. The more busy and stressful your life is, the harder it becomes for you to keep the other things in mind - including the ones that are important to you.

Diary writing means spending some time daily to focus on yourself, to remember your plans, your dreams, and so on. It reminds you what is truly important - and also helps you to spot things you might want to change in your life. For example, if you re-read your diary and find that you’re complaining about a certain friend often, maybe it’s time to think about your friendship and try talking to that person.

5. It helps you write easier.

If you are a student or if your job or hobby is related to writing in some way, journaling could also help you change your attitude towards writing itself. Setting certain goals could help with that as well - for example, you could make a promise to not simply write about daily events but write until you finish three pages. This won’t be easy at first but soon you’ll realize that you are able to do it. After that, it would be much easier for you to overcome writing blocks (if they would happen at all, for example when you work hard on your process essay topics).

6. It helps you heal emotionally.

Just like I’ve already mentioned above, we rarely find time to focus on ourselves these days. That’s why journaling is so effective for stress relief in the first place - and that’s why it helps not only with that but with emotional healing as well. Sometimes all we need to do to start feeling better and change something in our lives is to express what had been bothering us, to understand why exactly we are unhappy. In this case, diary writing can serve as a form of therapy for you.

As you see, one small habit can help you not only destress but also become more organized, communicative, and happy. That’s why you should give diary writing a try.